#DuffleShuffle

So no child has to put their belongings in a trash bag during times of crisis and transition

Short on time or dance moves? Do the online version of the #DuffleShuffle by clicking below to make a donation:

How to do the #DuffleShuffle:

Should I stuff my duffle?

Sure! When it comes to duffle stuffing, you have options. If you are in the Greater Cincinnati area and choose to physically purchase and donate a new duffle bag, here are the most useful items to stuff in it:

Please note, we only accept new donations; this allows us to serve youth in out-of-home care with dignity and efficiency.

If you’d rather stuff your duffle with money (and who wouldn’t want a duffle filled with that?!), click here to make an online donation.

Where do I do my Duffle Drop?

You have a few options:

You can drop off your duffle at the Devou Park campus of Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky during normal business hours (M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Or, if you have a large donation (like, would fill a pick-up truck size!), we can come to you – simply give us a call at 859.261.8768 to speak with our Development Office and make arrangements.

If you’re on the Cincinnati side of the river, you can drop off your duffle at Superior Kia on Mitchell Avenue, OR at the Superior Kia booth in Washington Park each Friday at the Friday Flow concert series!

We offer a tremendous THANKS to the local businesses and cities that served as Official Duffle Drop locations for the first phase of the campaign! While your opportunity to drop a duffle at these locations concluded on June 30, please join us in thanking Arronco Comfort Air, The Dance Coalition, Union Hall, and the cities of Crescent Springs, Crestview Hills, Erlanger, Fort Wright, Independence, and Taylor Mill for being Duffle Drop rock stars the past few months!

Who gets the duffles (and other donations)?

Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky will first and foremost make certain that the kids currently in our care each receive a new duffle; we’ll also make sure to set aside enough to accommodate kids who will be coming into our care over the next year. The remaining duffles will be shared with other nonprofits who serve kids in out-of-home care in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area, as well as Kentucky’s Department for Community-Based Services and Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services.

Monetary donations will support the life-changing and life-saving work that CHNK does on a daily basis for kids who have experienced abuse, neglect, addiction, or other trauma. Your financial gift ensures that a child has access to a therapist on the cutting edge of adolescent mental health care … that we can offer therapeutic recreation opportunities to youth who need positive coping mechanisms … that a teenager in out-of-home care can go to bed for the first time in his life with a belly full of nutritious food.

Whether you donate a duffle or dough, each and every gift is noticed, needed, and appreciated.

I did the #DuffleShuffle. What next?

This campaign is meant to move people to take the first step in opening their hearts and homes to kids in out-of-home care – including the hundreds of kids supported each year by Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky.

I'm not in the NKY/Greater Cincinnati area. Can I shuffle?

Absolutely! It’s not just youth in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati, or the surrounding areas who are in out-of-home care. This is a GLOBAL issue. While we would certainly love your support for the youth in our community, there are organizations across the country – and world – who also help abused and neglected youth; we’re sure they would appreciate duffle bags just as much as we do. To quote the musical Hamilton, this is not a moment, it’s the movement!

Child abuse and neglect are serious. Why are we shuffling?

Research shows that dance stimulates the mind and activates our emotional intelligence. In other words, dancing helps us feel – and then take action. It fosters connectedness with individual expression and people and our surroundings. By building momentum in our bodies, we create space for movement in our communities. First with our feet, and then with our hearts, we can take the necessary steps to address the challenges facing our children and teens in out-of-home care.

I have other questions. Who should I contact?

For additional questions, or to get more involved with the Duffle Shuffle challenge, please contact CHNK’s Office for Development at 859.292.4135 or development@chnk.org.

The Story Behind the Movement

The number of Kentucky children in out-of-home care hit an all-time high of 8,188 this April – the same month that is recognized as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.

Another 2,284 children in Ohio’s Hamilton County alone were in out-of-home care as of this past February, and 815 reports of abuse and neglect were screened in March alone – the most in any given month in over a decade. Further, Hamilton County saw a 200 percent increase in children coming into custody in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2016.

Unfortunately, these numbers for both Kentucky and Ohio mirror a national trend.

Children in out-of-home care spend, on average, 1/3 of their lives transitioning from one place to another. In moments of unanticipated disruption and uncertainty, the idea of home becomes challenging to imagine and embrace. Kids often have no other option but to throw their belongings into trash bags. And while the time they have to move is brief, the feelings of instability are painful and prolonging.

We believe that a sense of home is something everyone should carry with them, so we’re collecting duffle bags for kids and teens in out-of-home care (e.g., foster care, kinship care, residential treatment) around the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area. The combination of your donations, dancing, and duffle bags will both encourage awareness for the kids and their struggles in our area and provide them with a renewed sense of connection and community. We know our efforts are not a solution to ending child abuse and neglect, but our hope is that the Duffle Shuffle moves people to open their hearts and homes to kids in out-of-home care.

The #DuffleShuffle campaign inspires m o v e m e n t around this cause. By continuing to bridge meaningful connection between children and their concepts of home, we build stronger selves, stronger communities. Beginning with full hearts and, well, duffle bags, let’s make moves together and support kids in out-of-home care.